Relationships between sensory reactivity and occupational performance in children with paediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS).
Michelle J Newby, Shelly J Lane, Kirsti Haracz and 3 others
PMID 39396904WHAT IT FOUND
During PANS exacerbations, higher sensory reactivity scores correlated with lower communication and daily living skills.
However, sensory reactivity showed no significant link to socialisation scores. This suggests sensory issues explain functional decline in some areas, but other factors may drive social difficulties.
Key findings
01SPM total, vision, hearing, body awareness, and balance scores showed statistically significant moderate negative correlations with VABS adaptive behaviour composite scores.
02SPM total, vision, hearing, and body awareness scores showed significant moderate to strong negative correlations with VABS communication scores, while balance showed a strong negative correlation.
03There was a weak and non-significant relationship between SPM domain scores and VABS socialisation scores.
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (n=82 analysed, with fewer completing all measures), which reduced statistical power and increased the risk of missing true associations. The study relied entirely on parent-reported measures, which may introduce bias compared to objective assessments. The VABS was used as a proxy for occupational performance but is not specifically designed to measure it, potentially missing aspects of the child's functional challenges. Recruitment was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting generalisability. The cross-sectional nature of the exacerbation data means causal relationships between sensory reactivity and performance cannot be determined.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that sensory reactivity is the primary cause of social isolation in children with PANS. The study found no significant correlation between sensory scores and socialisation, indicating that other factors likely drive social difficulties during exacerbations.